Hull City Council has not prosecuted any 'rogue landlords' in five years

Hull City Council has not prosecuted any 'rogue landlords' in the past five years despite having received more than 9,000 complaints from concerned residents.

However, the authority says it is the "only council to appear in the top five for both the number of Improvement Notices issued and Civil Penalty actions against private landlords".

Data collected by Public Interest Lawyers from English and Welsh councils between 2019 and 2024 has found that, out of more than 250 authorities, Hull took on the most complaints about landlords.

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Hull City Council said that they logged 2,001 complaints from tenants in 2019/20. These could concern the likes of housing disrepair, harassment or attempted unlawful eviction.

The number of complaints then dipped to 1,554 in 2020/21, before rising to 1,797 the following year. The figure rose to 1,990 in 2022/23, before the most recent financial year saw 1,739 tenants get in touch with the council to raise concerns.

In total, Hull City Council were notified of issues by private tenants 9,081 times. Across this period, there were no attempted court prosecutions of landlords.

A spokesperson from Hull City Council has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that in instances where an offence has been committed, the council will typically fine landlords rather than pursue criminal prosecutions.

They said: "The council is committed to protecting residents and tackling rogue landlords. Data shows Hull is the only council to appear in the top five for both the number of Improvement Notices issued (226) and Civil Penalty actions (105) against private landlords.

"The council will always investigate complaints from private sector tenants and respond robustly to safeguard tenants’ health and wellbeing.

"If an offence has been committed, we have opted to use the civil penalty, under which local authorities have the power to fine landlords, rather than a criminal prosecution."

Reacting to Public Interest Lawyers’ report, Tom Darling, director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: "These are worrying findings. The key problem councils face here is ultimately a lack of resources, after years of rising costs and shrinking budgets.

"We’ve called on the government to provide local authorities – who will have the crucial role of enforcing the forthcoming Renters’ Rights Bill – with the additional funding and guidance they need to protect renters from rogue landlords."

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